Morphometric Effects of Marijuana on the Amygdala, Hippocampus, and Nucleus Accumbens

The legalization of marijuana use is a growing social and political issue; it is thus becoming increasingly important to ascertain the effects of marijuana use on the brain. As metrics of brain morphometry are often used to quantify the effects of drug use, this study analyzed the structural MRI data collected by the Human Connectome Project (HCP) of a large population of adults (n=438) for volume and shape changes in the amygdala, hippocampus, and nucleus accumbens associated with duration of marijuana use, age of first marijuana use, or number of lifetime marijuana use episodes. Tobacco use, alcohol abuse, age, and gender were considered as covariates. Of the three marijuana use metrics, only duration of use was found to correlate with significant morphology changes, seen as shape deflections in the left amygdala, right hippocampus, and left nucleus accumbens. These results suggest that marijuana does have an impact on subcortical morphology, but only in terms of duration of use

Expanding Educational Objectives Through the Undergraduate Business Law Course

The business law course has the potential to be a rich, valuable educational experience for the college student. But to be so, the course must transcend the mere conveyance of legal information in a format where the instructor\u27s view of the law is set forth in an organized, comprehensive and rote fashion. The law is more than a set of rules to be memorized. A professor should strive to develop students\u27 cognitive skills and present the law as a subject demanding reflection and involving societal values and intellectual practices.\u27 The best means to promote such objectives is to provide a classroom environment where the professor and students engage in a dialogue about assigned cases and hypothetical problems. The professor then requires students to arrive at a solution and to formulate for themselves the legal principles and rationales behind each decision

Letter from S. Edward Paschall to John Muir, 1903 Nov 9.

[letterhead]November 9, 1903.Mr. John Muir,California,Dear Sir:Two of my children (sister of 25 years and brother of 24) visited California this year, and while in San Francisco heard a rumor of a proposed colony at Muir: possibly a colony in which you are interested. Can you give me information about it?My family would like to live in a neighborhood or colony along with the John Muir , and it is possible that we could in the not remote future arrange to transfer our home form this to that side of the continent. My son has just obtained his medical diploma from the University of Pennsylvania. One daughter is a teacher, and another is fitting herself to be a trained nurse. A third daughter is at home with her mother.It was your Mountains of California that took my children across the continent this summer, and that gave them incentive and courage to walk 140 miles over the hills, sleeping where night found them, and enjoying the one grand summer vacation of their lives.Yours, respectfully,S. Edward Paschall.0330

Woolfolk, Carl-Oral History

Oral History of Carl Woolfolk, interviewed by his great-granddaughter T\u27Rayah Paschall in Huntington, West Virginia.https://mds.marshall.edu/african_american_oral/1003/thumbnail.jp

Psychological Trauma Amongst Cross-Cultural Nurses

Thousands of cross-cultural nurses are deployed worldwide into countries other than their home countries, which can be in developing areas where vast amounts of disease, famine, poverty, and conflict exist. In an effort to provide necessary and otherwise inaccessible aid to the residents in these areas, nurses and other mission workers volunteer their time and expertise toward alleviating the physical and emotional suffering of these unfortunate individuals. Working under such traumatic conditions can lead professionals and paraprofessionals alike to becoming predisposed to various psychological disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which can be long-lasting and affect multiple areas of one\u27s life. This was a study conducted on a convenience sample of 35 nurses working in multiple regions in Africa and Western-Asia who were asked to complete an online questionnaire containing demographic information and two sections of the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire-Revised, which assessed for PTSD symptoms and events. The findings suggested that older and more experienced nurses reported less PTSD symptoms, and younger, less experienced nurses reported more symptoms; however, one significant correlation was noted between age and arousal, which suggested that perhaps the younger nurses are experiencing more anxiety or stress, as opposed to PTSD. The most frequently reported traumatic event reported was robbery at 57.1%. Approximately 8.5% met PTSD criteria, and approximately 23% were at a level of clinical concern. Overall, these rates are higher than the national PTSD prevalence rates suggesting a need for treatment within this population